TOUR 8: MENGWI ~ ALAS KEDATON ~ TANAH LOT

This is one of Bali’s compulsory tours to see the most beautiful temple of Bali. First we will stop at Mengwi, to visit the magnificent royal family temple (XII century) surrounded by a moat. Continuing, we will proceed to Alas Kedaton to see the many fruit bats and monkey forest. Our next stop is the marine temple of Tanah Lot. This lovely temple is on a truly perfect promontory setting to watch the stunning sunset. (weather permitting)

MENGWI
Eighteen kilometers northwest of Denpasar city, this small village has a glittering history as the capital of a powerful 17th century kingdom and is the site of an important temple from that era. The once great realm of Mengwi arose with the weakening of Gelgel in east Bali around 1650.

The most splendid remainder from Mengwi’s former glory is indisputably the Pura Taman Ayun. This is probably the largest existing Balinese house temple, built in the middle of the 18th century by Mengwi’s greatest king. The temple is surrounded by a wide moat that gives impression of a sanctuary in the middle of a pond. The waters are a symbolic place of contact with the divine through celestial nymphs who bath in the pond. It is a state temple to worship the ancestors of the royal dynasty of Mengwi kingdom.

ALAS KEDATON
There are tame monkeys in Alas Kedaton and free gallivanting in temple yard, so that the calm atmosphere is sometime solved by noise voice of the monkey, which are playing around and scrambling of food. The monkeys who dwell in this forest, there are jump up and down in temple wall, take a bath in moat or there is also hang out in few leaves representing impression view. The monkey like as custodian of temple, which are always ready to greet all visitorS. You will see also bats and some other animals in Kedaton forest . At least 24 types of grove plant have been identified in Alas Kedaton. Entrance fee is about IDR 20.000 per person.

TANAH LOT (Pura Tanah Lot)
Tanah Lot, one of the most popular places of interest in Bali, is located on the coast of West Bali, at the village of Beraban in the Tabanan Regency. It is also called Tanah Let which means ancient land and also Tanah Lod, which means the land to the south.

The temple Pura Tanah Lot was built in around 16th century by the priest Dang Hyang Nirartha. Simple in it’s construction, is dramatic in it’s ocean-front location and is one of the main temples in the worship of Balinese gods.

Tanah Lot has a long history in the world of tourism. The temple itself is built on a small promontory which is only accessible at low tide. During high water the rock takes on the appearance of a large boat at sea, such is its shape. Poisonous snakes live in the nearby caves to ‘guard’ the temple and contribute to the temple’s dangerous reputation.

Sunset is the best time to visit Tanah lot, when the golden red skies frame the temple and waves crash into the rocks.